A Quotev Exposé

Don't Ship Real People

So I'm a huge One Direction fan, and One Direction fans are often called "Directioners." But I don't like to call myself a "Directioner" because it apparently comes with a set of rules. A lot of these rules are pretty dumb. Apparently, you can't have a least favorite member. So what if I do have one? You don't have to like that, but you could at least respect my preferences. I don't hate any of the members of One Direction, but I'm really sick of how so many people seem to put Harry Styles on a pedestal. Yes, he's cute and charming and talented (and British). But he's also EVERYWHERE. Nothing is new with him anymore. I used to get excited when I heard news about Harry Styles from One Direction. Every other pop culture news article is about Harry Styles. But now I just think, "Oh, him again. What did he do this time?" And that's why he's my least favorite. But I don't hate him, you see? (If you don't, don't worry. It's not your problem. You don't have to care about my preferences. I'm just explaining myself.)

I made a friend on Quotev a few years ago that I'll call Nell. We'd hit it off soon enough, both being "Directioners" (using the term lightly) and MARVEL fans. And I trusted her. I knew she shipped Larry Stylinson (which is the couple name for Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson from One Direction), and she knew I didn't. I respected her opinions about Larry Stylinson, and I thought she'd respect mine. But boy, was I wrong.

One time on Quotev I was talking to my then-boyfriend (who I'll call Jack) about why I was sick of hearing about Larry Stylinson all the time. Jack and I were talking amongst ourselves in the comments of one of my Quotev activity posts. It was just the two of us, no one else. I was telling him how some Larries have taken the shipping too far. For example, If Louis and Harry make eye contact for 0.5 seconds during a video, then some crazy Larrie would screenshot the moment and upload it as "Larry proof." And with Louis being my favorite member of One Direction, I sometimes get angry on his behalf regarding Larry. I didn't understand why the conspiracies were all surrounding Louis, whereas Harry seemed to be glorified in every possible way. So many Larries are convinced that Louis is gay or bisexual, but they never label Harry out of "respect." (Hypocrisy much?) Some even go so far as to say that Louis Tomlinson's son, Freddie, is not really his and is actually a publicity stunt. Yes, there are actually people out there that think Freddie Tomlinson's birth was faked in order to deter Larries and keep Louis "in the closet." They called it the "babygate" conspiracy. (Hopefully no one thinks that anymore after seeing Louis' documentary, but anyway. . .)

And now that the One Direction members have all gone their separate ways (ironic, I know), I really think people need to stop bringing up Larry so much. Louis will post a photo and some Larry will comment on the post: "Harry is a lucky guy" . . . Really? It's a Louis photo. It has nothing to do with Harry! It's like Louis and Harry can't be their own people because people keep lumping them together as "Larry." (And yes, people do comment on Harry photos with similar sentiments about Louis, but they do it so much more often with Louis photos about Harry. And I'm sick of it all.)

 Anyway, back to my Quotev story. I was explaining all of this to Jack, telling him why I didn't like Larry Stylinson - and also why Harry was my least favorite. All of a sudden Nell randomly commented, "Wait - you don't like Harry? Well - a true Directioner appreciates ALL the members. Didn't realize you were a solo Louis stan"

Okay. . . . First of all, I don't hate Harry. I'm just. . .you know. . . not "in love" with him. Like I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, almost everything in pop culture is about Harry or at least mentions him by name. He's not new anymore; he's not special anymore. I don't hate him, I don't wish he were dead or anything. I'm just sick of hearing about him all. . . the. . . freaking. . . time. 

I'd never said anything against Harry or his solo career. And I hadn't even said anything entirely against Nell either. But she just went off trying to "protect" Harry from my "mean" words about him. I didn't even say anything mean about him - I just said that he was my least favorite member! And I wasn't even talking to her when I said it! She was the one who butted in out of nowhere. And she apparently thinks I'm a fake Directioner because I have a least favorite. Well, excuse me for having preferences! You've never had preferences before?

But yeah, so regarding the Larry Stylinson thing. . . You see how much drama it starts? You see how friendships can be destroyed? This is why we shouldn't ship real people (unless they are a real-life couple, of course). Just stick to your fictional characters where you can control what happens there. Now everyone is safe. And don't label people, either!

P.S.: Writing alternate universe fanfictions about your ship doesn't count! Have fun with that!